The $1 million consent order the state has drawn up with King America Finishing over its pollution of the Ogeechee River is being criticized as vague, ineffective and failing to follow federal guidelines.

“We’d prefer any money obtained from King America Finishing be used in furtherance of the river and the environment, but I don’t feel like what they came up with is effective,” said Hutton Brown, an attorney with GreenLaw, which, along with Don Stack of Stack & Associates, filed comments on the order on behalf of the Ogeechee Riverkeeper.

The state Environmental Protection Division received 16 comments on the order, ranging from simple requests for a public hearing to detailed analyses of the document.

Because of those requests, the EPD will announce by mid-December a date for a public hearing, said Jim Ussery, assistant EPD director.

The proposed consent order was issued in October to replace one issued in September 2011. That first order was invalidated in July by Bulloch County Superior Court Judge John Turner for lack of a public hearing.

The consent order outlines the following projects but provides little detail about their execution:

• Third-party monitoring of the facility’s discharge for a duration of 18 months at a cost of $75,000.

• Improvements to the city of Millen wastewater treatment plant to be completed in 12 months at a cost of $158,609. The facility discharges to the Ogeechee River.

• A study of the ecology of the Ogeechee River by Georgia Southern University to be completed in 36 months at a cost of $766,391.

King America Finishing is a textile processor in Screven County. When investigating a massive fish kill below the plant’s discharge pipe in May 2011, state regulators discovered it had been operating a fire retardant line for five years without a permit. Instead of fines that could have topped $90 million, the EPD developed the consent order.

EPD favors the consent order because it directs the money toward river-related projects instead of into the state general fund, said EPD Director Jud Turner, who inherited the aftermath of the Ogeechee fish kill when he became director Jan. 1.

In their five-page comment, attorneys Brown and Stack note they were denied access to supporting documentation regarding the choice of the projects in the consent order, a refusal they say thwarts public participation and is contrary to the Georgia Open Records Act.

Nor does it build public trust in the EPD, they note.

“We must emphasize that this policy, coupled with the agency’s previous issuance of a consent order which was ruled illegal because of a lack of public input can be viewed as a continuing attempt by EPD to protect a violator at the expense of the citizens and residents of this state,” they wrote.

The attorneys also note that King America Finishing continues to discharge without a permit. A permit was issued in August but revoked the same day the new consent order was released. Otherwise, except for a brief shutdown after the fish kill, the company has been discharging from its fire retardant line without a permit since 2006.

In a phone interview Friday, the EPD’s Turner emphasized that the company’s discharge is different now than it was before the fish kill. EPD allowed the fire retardant line to reopen under a “strict set of discharge rules” outlined in a July 2011 letter.

“It’s not a free-for-all,” he said. “They’re not discharging whatever they want.”

Riverkeeper attorneys insist, though, that a permit is what’s necessary under the law.

“The Clean Water Act says there’s no discharge of pollutants without a permit,” Stack said. “The state is required to have that exact same standard. Show me the permit.”

The bulk of the $1 million penalty is to be spent on university research, an area the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s policy on supplemental environmental projects specifically lists as unacceptable.

For this reason and for the GSU proposal’s lack of specificity, the Riverkeeper rejects it.

“Three quarters of it is some amorphous study,” Brown said. “Say Georgia Southern University at the end of the study comes up with a list of problems that need to be addressed, there’s no mechanism or funding to address that.”

EPD Director Jud Turner said the state does not have written guidelines for supplemental projects and that federal guidelines are suggestions.

“The guidance documents are not binding on the state,” he said.

Comments on the agreement were also filed by the Augusta-based Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy, which had created its own detailed proposal that entails five years of extensive real-time monitoring of river conditions with Web-based access to the results.

Instead, after almost a year of talks with King America Finishing and follow-up with the EPD, a much shorter monitoring program — just 18 months — is proposed in the consent order. It’s unclear who would perform the monitoring.

Academy president and CEO Bob Young said 18 months is too short.

“If you’re going to do monitoring, it should be long term so you can do an analysis that show trends, that gives the experience of looking at the body of water at different times of the year, in drought, in surplus rainfall and in other events,” he said.

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Yes King America Finishing did get a great ‘Deal’ from the state of Georgia. When you look at that picture of all those dead fish and read about the slap on the hand that KAF got, one would think that those fish aren’t the only thing that smells in the state of Georgia.

Wonder what our esteem Governor Nathan Deal is worth today, does anybody remember that Mr. Deal had declared bankruptcy just before becoming Governor? Nothing like free rent, utilities and transportation to help get someone back on their feet.

And yet the people who elect/re-elect proponents of Big Government
control continue to believe that Washington has all of the answers to everyone's problems

Here is a case that got moved BACK to a State Court after someone played Let's Make a Deal with a bureaucrat in the EPD. There is a much better chance of control and justice at the local level where the people who are directly affected by the condition of the river will try the case.

There is no way for a large central government to run a country the size of the United States without graft and corruption.

And people want to allow the Feds to run a national healthcare system?

'Government’s first duty is to protect the People, not run their lives.’ –Ronald Reagan

Yea, let's have each county, municipality and subdivision have its own environmental rules. No matter that several jurisdictions, with possibly conflicting rules, would often be involved with a pollution matter, as in this case, and that local promulgation and enforcement of such rules would add more work and cost to struggling local governments that can't afford to perform the functions they are required to perform now. Let's jump on the bad big government bandwagon when its called for. The superior court judge, by the way, was ruling on state administrative rules as ignored by the state EPD. Get a grip.

In this case those believing in states' rights have had their way. Those who rail against the federal government seem to forget that this is a state EPD problem (or are they confusing the EPD with the federal EPA? (D'oh!)). If enough people become educated, concerned and active regarding this problem maybe something reasonable will come out of what until now has been a fiasco.

Many mention and blame their congressmen on this issue with the state EPD, but how about help from the local state senators and house members regarding the inaction and poor actions by the state EPD? How about a report from those commentators on their contact with those local state legislature members? Do they know who they are? Do I hear crickets?

The elected state officials, including the governor and our state legislators, did not magically appear. If some commentators spent less time playing the blame game and, instead, intelligently participated in government processes (there were an overwhelming 16 comments to the state EPD's plan) and actively participated in electing officials with whom they reasonably agree, we might have fewer problems getting the state to be suitably responsive.

One reason we have as large a federal government as we do is because, as illustrated in this case up to now, not enough people at the local level educate themselves and act intelligently when they have the chance. As far as the federal government is concerned, they have met the enemy and are the cause of its existence.

become Federal soon enough. Consider that the Ogeechee River flows Southeast from the counties which are currently making the news into the Atlantic Ocean between Wassaw and Ossabaw Islands. This is the northern part of Georgia's ocean 'nurseries'-where the baby shrimp, crabs and fish spawn and grow.

People are already appalled at the number of FISH who were killed 'upriver'. Can you imagine the damage to the seafood industry if enough of the chemicals got into the salt water marshes?

You see, the best way to keep THAT from happening is to stop it at the source-King Finishing in Screven County.

You may not know this but a Superior Court Judge in Georgia has the power to do a lot more than preside over criminal cases and lawsuits. Judge Turner saw what was happening at the State EPD and was able to pull the case back into local (Ogeechee Circuit) jurisdiction.

The Biology Dept. at GA Southern Univ. has been working for years toward greater awareness of What Goes Into the Ogeechee River. The next time you see a manhole cover look down and see if it is painted with a fish or sea turtle with a message about where stuff that is dumped upstream goes.

And while YOU are 'becoming educated' about Where That Glass of Water Came From consider that the best way to keep a small, local problem from becoming a BIG, National one is to stop it while it IS still small.

The State Agency failed the citizens south of Atlanta on this mess. When that happens the 'locals' must act in order to take care of the problem, as Judge Turner has done.

You see, even people who live outside of Chatham County can be intelligent and 'Act Locally, Think Globally'.

Thanks for the information, Granny. However, Judge Turner did not "pull the case back into local (Ogeechee Circuit) jurisdiction."

Superior courts can't "pull" cases into their jurisdictions. In fact, in this case a lawsuit was filed in the Ogeechee Circuit superior court against the EPD, jurisdiction in that court was proper because the controversy was based in Bulloch County, the defendant was subject to the jurisdiction, and the case involved state law claims. The suit was assigned to Judge Turner, and he made a proper decision based on state law that the state EPD violated state administrative rules in making the agreement with King America.

Superior courts can't rule without a case being brought before them by others; they can't rule, as it is termed, sua sponte. While Judge Turner should be recognized for correctly ruling in a case assigned to him based on the law (as he should as a judge), let's not give him powers he doesn't have.

quite happy that it DID. Generally the Most Senior Judge in a Superior Court Circuit can have his/her 'pick of the chicken' as far as cases on the docket are assigned. In the Ogeechee Circuit that happens to be Judge Turner.

and is a fair judge. I am very glad he was assigned the case and hopes he remains on the bench for years to come.

However, Granny, three strikes, and you're out!

Billy Woodrum is Chief Judge of the Ogeechee Circuit, he has at least a year of seniority on Judge Turner and, as in other circuits, Ogeechee uses a rotating case assignment system to prevent "home cooking" of the "chicken" in the Ogeechee Circuit.

game here? Must have missed the 'play ball' announcement at the beginning...

I think that you had some 'foul balls' a few innings back but you DID, finally acknowledge that Robbie Turner is fair, diligent and decidedly capable of doing the job entrusted to him.

And we both seem to agree that having this case back in the closest Superior Court to the Ogeechee River is a GOOD thing. So I think that this one would have to be ruled a 'tie' since we have both arrived at the same conclusion.

I have a much greater recollection of those who preceded him on the bench, especially in Bulloch County.

Perhaps you have a job which places you in the Ogeechee Circuit Court System? At least some of the time?

reason for the painting of the manhole covers that I mentioned (to raise awareness). And when the dead fish showed up, well, one picture is worth a thousand words. Too many people think 'out of sight, out of mind' until the water is too polluted to drink, fish or swim.

Don't know what kind of 'transformation thing' you have with Yulb but I would probably rather not know. Don't ask, don't tell works for me here.

to ‘subscribe’ to this electronic rag in order to enjoy these fun and games!

But, it did give me a moment to confirm that what you have done, GaDave, is to COMBINE quotes from several different people:

Stupidity is a talent for misconception (Edgar Allan Poe), while egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity (Frank Leahy)

.'When confronted with truth,
the intelligent listen in silence, while the stupid drone on attacking the speaker.' (This was paraphrasing of statements contained in a book on: 'The Utilization of Psychiatry, Psychology, Sociology to Study How Clinical Psychopaths Economically and Socially Stagnate/Lead to Disaster Societies that They Rule' by Andrew M. Lobaczewski.) Interesting stuff-I had to read it for awhile.

The Archie Bunker thing you can keep. No harm, no foul.

I love quotations! But, if you're going to use them at least do so Honestly!

Here I thought that we had reached a mutual agreement on the main topic of discussion which had to do with the Ogeechee River case only to have GaDave start up a contest in the use of quotations in essay or debate. Most disappointing to see someone who appears to be somewhat educated hijack the words of two other men and claim them as his own...

"Fear not those who argue but those who dodge."
Marie Ebner von Eschenbach, Aphorisms, 1905

Granny, having a good general memory and being well read can be both a blessing and a curse (no I don't know who first said this). It is the nature of language that often someone has said something similar, or even repeated the same, as has been said before.

Nonetheless, as I advised above -- get a grip. (Again, I don't know who first said this). We're not writing journal articles here, this a comment thread.

For someone who blithely spouts obviously incorrect statements, you should require of yourself the level of citation you require of others. Of course you are obviously projecting. See, Wade, Tavris "Psychology" Sixth Edition, Prentice Hall 2000.

I sincerely hope you will continue to read, and reread, Andrew Lobaczewski's work.

I haven't forgotten about you, all stuck in that lonely place which you have described as 'Comment Purgatory'. And I DID enjoy reading what I have so far of Lobaczewski's work. He thinks 'outside of the box' as I do and I find that he expresses well the connections of the different psychoses, etc. with behavioral patterns, genetics and the like.

However today I must deal with a rather pressing health matter and so will be unable to respond to your last post until the issue is resolved.